Liquid Fusion Kayaking

Kayaking Tips for 2012

jeff — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 15:03:33 +0000

If your new years resolutions are to get in shape, learn a new sport, improve your skills, or paddle more, come kayak with us on the Mendocino Coast and let's do it!!!

Here are a couple of ideas for kayaking goals for 2012.

Make it FUN - What ever the goal or resolution. Find a way to make it fun and it will be more attainable. This is where recruiting a fun-loving friend, coworker, or family member will help.

Learn proper skills and technique. Some aspects of kayaking are intuitive; however, there are many nuances and tricks that one can learn that will make kayaking more efficient and more fun for paddlers of at any skills level. We (and many other instructors) often share tips on tw itter, facebook, and in our blogs, but, the best way to develop proper technique is to work with an instructor or coach who can give instruction and feedback. Kayak symposiums are a great way to meet different coaches and find that right mentor. Two of our favorite west coast symposiums are the Golden Gate Sea Kayak Symposium in February and Lumpy Waters in October.

Try a new discipline of paddling. The skills that you learn with a different type of boat or paddle will improve your overall skills in all disciplines. If you like to paddle a sit on top kayak, take a sea kayak lesson in a decked sea kayak. If you like to sea kayak ocean rock gardens, try a whitewater river class or rock gardening in a whitewater kayak. Jeff and I are expanding our paddling skills this year to include Stand-Up Paddling (SUP).

Sea Kayaking - Pick a BCU Star Award to work toward. The BCU system is a well organized guide for skill progression. It gives a paddler a way to assess their skills and plan for improvement. Trainings and assessments are available throughout the US and in many other great kayaking destinations (Baja, anyone?). If you are new to the BCU, consider taking a 2 Star Assessment or 3 Star Sea Training this winter or spring. Here's a link to LFK's BCU schedule.

Whitewater River Kayaking - Make 2012 the year that you style the river rather than survive it. Perfect your eddy turns and ferries and dial your wave surfing by a few minutes of focused practice on each of your river trips. Either with a class or with friends, see who can ferry across the river with the fewest strokes or time each other on surfing waves.

Surf Kayaking - How about training for an event? The Santa Cruz Paddlefest is March 16-18. See some of the best kayak surfers in the world as well as have a chance to surf at Santa Cruz Steamer's Lane. Here's our video from 2011.

Have a Reliable Roll - For the safety of yourself and others, you need to have a reliable roll if you are paddling challenging waters. For most of us, this takes a lot of focused practice and often some good coaching. Often there is one little thing that we can do or focus on that will improve the success of our rolls. How do we find that one little thing? Usually it involves feedback from a coach or friend who analyzes your roll. That one little thing can be as simple as making sure you finish ( Creating a Reliable Roll by Phil and Mary Dereimer) or using an active leg drop (Shawna Franklin's tip in Adventure Kayak Magazine) or just relaxing and taking a moment to relax before rolling.

Improving your fitness - We of course advocate cross training. Cardiovascular training will make long paddles or slogs through a headwind easier. Hiking, mountain biking, and swimming are our favorite cardio exercises. Recruit a friend, family member, or coworker to power walk, hike, bike, or swim 2-3 days a week. Set a schedule with specific times and days and try to stick with it.

Strength and flexibility are equally important and will help with injury prevention. I am a reluctant yoga participant, but Jeff has been rallying me to regularly practice. We do our strength and flexibility workouts first thing in the morning so that they get done and we feel great the rest of the day. It is best to work with an instructor, but I have a hard time getting myself to the gym or studio and prefer to practice at home. My two favorite yoga workout dvd's are Yoga for Cyclists and Anna Levesque's Yoga for Kayaking.

Be prepared for emergencies - Prevention, prevention, prevention is our motto; however, it is important to be prepared for the unexpected. CPR and First Aid are a must for anyone. This year, we have recruited Sierra Rescue to come to the Mendocino Coast to teach a Wilderness First Aid Class for the outdoor enthusiasts in our area. If you are playing in whitewater, a swiftwater training is a must as well. If you have had training, rally your friends to practice scenarios and to maintain a dialog of contingency plans.

Part of our emergency preparations includes our OSB's (Oh Shit Bags). These are part of our kit on all kayaking trips and include essential first aid, communication, and repair materials.

Most important tip is to DO IT and make it FUN!!!

Best wishes for a GREAT 2012. We hope to see you on the water soon.

Cate and Jeff

Tis the Season

jeff — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 17:40:21 +0000

Greetings Friends of Liquid Fusion Kayaking,

Thanks for visiting our website. We've been busy creating our 2012 kayaking program. For 2012, we are expanding some of our Mendocino kayaking programs and creating some new ones. We also have created special gift certificates so that you can share the fun of Liquid Fusion Kayaking with your friends and family.

For 2012, we are excited to announce our Mendocino Waves and Caves Weekend. This weekend of rock gardening and sea cave kayaking fun is fashioned after the infamous Los Arboritos whitewater weekend that Greg Knight and Jeff used to lead for Aqua Adventures. Those that have paddled both Mendo and Arbo describe Mendo as "Arbo on Steroids." Don't miss this fun trip that includes camping, meals, and adventure.

Our Sunday Paddles are expanding for 2012 to include First Sunday Estuary Paddles, Second Sunday Sea Kayak Coastal Explora tion, and Third Sunday Sea Kayak Rock Garden Exploration and Play. These paddles are guided by both Cate and Jeff and will run monthly April through October and are only $40/person.

In February, we are teaming up with Sierra Rescue to offer a Wilderness First Aid Course on the Mendocino Coast. Prevention, prevention, prevention is our motto, but it is good to know what to do when a medical emergency arises.

Whitewater river kayaking season is coming be sure to check out our line-up of whitewater kayaking classes for this winter on the rivers of Mendocino County.

Speaking of the season - give the gift of adventure this holiday season. We are offering special deals on Liquid Fusion Kayaking gift certificates for you to share with your family and friends. Choose from dry and mild or wet and wild or call us to make a custom gift certificate.

FUN, FUN, FUN - we are very excited about sharing our 20 12 adventures and hope that you will join us.

Best of days,

Cate and Jeff

Fall Kayaking on the Mendocino Coast

jeff — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 19:54:07 +0000

Greetings Friends of Liquid Fusion Kayaking,

Thanks for visiting our website. We are an owner-operated small business that specializes in kayaking instruction on the Mendocino Coast of Northern California. We had a great summer and are looking forward sharing with you a variety of fun fall kayaking adventures. On the Mendocino Coast, we generally get some of our best weather and ocean kayaking conditions in the fall which makes for great sea kayaking.

We are transitioning to our fall/winter hours. In the fall and winter, reservations are necessary for all of our rentals, tours, classes, and lessons. Give us a ring. If you get our voicemail, please leave us a message. We will return your call and happily accommodate your interest in paddling with us. In the fall and winter months, we aren't in the office or at the shop as much. These are our training months where we refine our skills and explore new areas on the Mendocino Coast and beyond to include in our trips and classes (We know - its a tough job, but someone has to do it).

We are really excited about the positive momentum that continues to build for Liquid Fusion Kayaking. Recently, we were mentioned in an article in the NY Times titled 36 Hours on the Mendocino Coast. We also have been getting some great reviews on Trip Advisor and Yelp. Most exciting for us though, is YOU - checking out our website, reading our blog, following us on facebook, watching our YouTube videos, coming paddling with us, and sending your friends our way. Whether you enjoy our mild or wild side, we are stoked to share it with you on and off the water.

This fall, we are looking forward to helping sea kayakers develop their skills and earn their BCU Star Awards. If you are interested in developing a solid foundation of skills, be sure to check out our BCU Trainings and Assessmen ts. In October, we will be loading up our truck with sea, whitewater, and surf kayaks to paddle and play in the surf and rock gardens of the Oregon Coast at the Lumpy Water s Symposium.

Don't worry though, we won't be gone for long as mushroom season will be upon us. In November, we will be having our Mushroom Paddles and sharing our knowledge of the fungi of our Mendocino coniferous rain forests. We have started doing our rain dances and are hoping for a bountiful year.

We are planning some exciting new programs for 2012 including sea, river, and surf kayaking instruction and tours. If you would like to be among the first to know about our new doings, contact us to be added to our email list.

Best of days on the water,

Cate and Jeff

Mendocino Coast Kayak Adventures with Liquid Fusion Kayaking

jeff — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 22:24:23 +0000

From mild to wild . . . Liquid Fusion Kayaking is an owner-operated instructional kayak

company on the the Mendocino Coast.

Jeff and Cate are Liquid Fusion Kayaking's owners/operators/instructors/guides. We started Liquid Fusion Kayaking on the Mendocino Coast to share our love of kayaking, wildlife watching and the outdoors. All of our tours and classes are lead by either or both of us. We believe in a personalized experience. Reservations are required, and group sizes are small so that we can customize each trip. We believe in quality not quantity. Our tours and classes start with us asking participants what they want to see, do, and experience. Each class or tour is then customized to the participants' interests.

We have developed our Mendocino Coast tours, classes, and rentals to meet a variety of interests and abilities. For those that don't want to get wet, they can join us on a dry and mild tour that is scenic and relaxing, yet wild with wildlife. For those that are looking for adventure, our Whitewater of the Sea will challenge and thrill. For those that want to explore the Noyo River by kayak on their own, we offer rentals and knowledgeable advice. And for those that want to learn to kayak, teaching kayaking is our specialty. Check out our classes and lessons.

For more information on us (our story, our location, who we are), check out our company information section. If you are interested in kayaking on the Mendocino Coast, call or email us (if you get our voicemail, it is likely that we are out on the water. Please leave a message and we will return your call). We look forward to sharing our knowledge and love of the waters and wildlife of the Mendocino Coast with you.

Best of days, Cate and Jeff

Kayaking on the Mendocino Coast in the Winter

jeff — Wed, 19 Jan 2011 23:10:14 +0000

Whales, Waves, and Whitewater . . .These 3 words sum up our Mendocino winter kayaking adventures.

Believe it or not, we have some of our sunniest weather in winter so we are out playing quite a bit.

Whales - On days when the ocean has been calm, we have been witnessing one of the most spectacular gray whale migrations that we can recall. One can see the whales from shore but experiencing them from the water is a surreal experience.

Waves - On those not so calm days, we have been surfing and rock gardening in our kayaks. We have had some really great days of playing in the rocks and waves.

Whitewater - Rain, snow melt, and dam releases have had our Mendocino County whitewater rivers flowing. We have enjoyed several days already on the Eel and are looking forward to some more paddling on the Eel River as well as Rancheria Creek and Russian River. We just finished creating a couple of whitewater videos on our local runs. Watch for them to be on our YouTube channel soon.

Speaking of YouTube. Check out our new kayak rock gardening video - Whitewater of the Sea. It was all filmed on the Mendocino Coast.